Enabling double opt-in for newsletters

Double opt-in functionality, also referred to as confirmed opt-in or closed-loop opt-in, adds an additional security layer to the newsletter subscription.

When double opt-in is disabled for a newsletter, anyone may simply submit an email address for subscription, without any steps to ensure that the address actually belongs to that contact. With double opt‑in, new recipients are not immediately activated and do not receive emails. Instead, the system sends an automatic email containing an activation link. After clicking the link, contacts are redirected to a special page and their subscription is confirmed.

The main advantages of double opt-in are:

• Confirming that the email addresses of recipients actually exist
• Preventing contacts from being unknowingly subscribed to a newsletter by someone else (either intentionally or by mistake)

Enabling double opt-in

To configure a newsletter to use double opt-in:

1. Open the Email marketing application on the Email feeds tab.

2. Edit () a newsletter.

3. Switch to the Configuration tab.

4. Select the Enable double opt-in option in the Double opt-in category.

5. Set the following properties:

   Property	Description
   Double opt-in email template	Selects the template used for the subscription activation emails that are sent to contacts. You can only select templates of the Double opt-in type. The template must contain a subscription confirmation link with a URL generated by the {% EmailFeed.SubscriptionConfirmationUrl %} macro. See also: Preparing email templates
   Approval page URL	The relative URL path on your live site that handles subscription confirmation requests for marketing emails. This URL is used by the subscription confirmation link in the Double opt-in template. Leave empty to use the value of the Settings -> On‑line marketing -> Email marketing -> Double opt-in approval page URL setting. The specified URL needs to handle the subscription confirmation. Example: ~/Newsletter/ConfirmSubscription
   Send double opt-in confirmation	If enabled, the system sends a confirmation email to recipients after they successfully activate their subscription to the newsletter.

6. Click Save to confirm the changes.

Now any contacts who subscribe to the newsletter will receive an email containing a confirmation link. The link sends them to an approval page that activates the subscription.

Handling subscription approval

The subscription confirmation does not work by default. Developers need to implement the required functionality as described in Implementing newsletter subscriptions.